Le Pain Quotidien Coming to the former Corner Bakery Space in Union Station

At the end of Jan. Corner Bakery’s prime spot closed in Union Station (though they’ll open a new spot nearby at 500 North Capitol St, NW.) Thanks to Amanda Wagner for sending photos of the new tenant – Le Pain Quotidien.

Also, this is the 3rd primarily sandwich shop in a row. Pret, ABP, and LPQ all basically sell the same stuff and they are right next to each other. A little more variety in this particular area of the station would have been appreciated.

I’m not a fan of 90% of the food options in Union Station. Most of the stuff in the basement is terrible and the chain places all sell the same stuff (overpriced salad, soups, and sandwiches).

The only redeeming things are the liquor store and the conveyor sushi joint.

The sushi place in the basement is decent. The conveyor belt sushi restaurant on the main floor is better.

I’ve only been to the liquor store in the basement. That place is awesome and makes my bi-weekly Amtrak rides much more enjoyable. However, the homeless alcoholic dudes that hang around Union Station can slow things down in there if you’re in a rush to grab a beer and run to your train.

I once tried to get a slice of pizza down there, and a GIANT roach crawled by just as they put it in the oven to heat up. The attendant saw my expression, looked behind himself and saw the roach, and looked back at me. We seemed to understand each other, and I simply walked away. Have not been back down there since.

When I lived on Parker St, I used to go to that theater because it was so convenient. But it was really poorly run. The attendants wouldn’t dim the lights when the movie started, and the people watching the movies would always be noisy. The movies were always mostly empty. Which is why the shut down I guess. I remember at the very end they put new seats in to try and get people in there, but it wasn’t the seats that made it suck, it was the way it was run.

I do love Quotidien, but a few months ago when I ate at the (now vacated) Corner Bakery I saw a mouse running on the ground in front of the counter…in the middle of the day….he almost ran right over this woman’s foot as she was ordering.
Union Station – do better! People eat here!